Spray gun and means for operating the same



March 6, 1928. 1,661,239

E. STEPHAN SPRAY GUN AND MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME Filed Aug. 20, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 j if /f k k\\ 4? 47 4/ 40 i7 49 L #Z 27 3% 1/ f2 40 J9 ZZ INVENTOR WM/Wig ATTORNEYS March 6, 1928. 1,661,239

E. STEPHAN SPRAY GUN AND MEANS FOR OPERATING THESAME Filed Aug. 20, 1925 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENTOR ZSTZPf/AA/ ATTORNEYS BY LWM 1124,,

Patented Mar. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL STEPHAN, OI BBIDGMAN, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO W. H. GABT, 01' Barnum,

. MICHIGAN.

SPRAY GUN AND MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME.

Application-filed August 20, 1925 Serial 1T0. 51,501.

My invention relates to improvements in spray guns and means for operating the same, and it consists in the combinations,

constructions, and arrangements herein de- 6 scribed and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a spray gun which has novel means for 8111- ploying air under low pressure for spraying the paint or other liquid, the gun being designed so as to have the air flow continuously through the gunwhether the valve controlling the flow of paint thrqugh the gun is open or closed. In this way I do away with extra parts which are necessary 16 in spraying apparatus which employs air under a high pressure for spraying the paint.

The low pressure 'air has still another feature in connection with the gun, in that it eliminates the fog which is usually prevalent when spraying guns employing air under high ressure are used.

A' urther object of my invention is to provide a spray gun of the character described having a novel cut-oif valve yvhich temporarily stops the flow of air through the gun and causes'the air to back up into the paint containing receptacle so as to create a pressure within the receptacle to deliver a greater quantity of paint to the gun.

r A further object of my invention is to provide a spray gun of the character described in which the mouth piece of the gun is designed so as to be turned into one position when a flat spray is desired, and into a position at to the first position when a round spray is desired. The mouth piece may be turned into two positions for the flat spray, these positions being so arranged that the operator may throw ahorizontal 40 spray or a vertical spray without the. necessity of turning the gun. I

A further object of my invention is to provide a spray gun of the character described which has means for regulating the 4 movement of the trigger so as to control the opening of the paint control valve.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and thenovel. features of the invention will be particularl pointed out in the appended claims.

y invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a side view of the gun, and further. shows in diagram how the gun is connected to the paint containing receptacle 'and to the pump, a

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the mouth piece of the gun, showing the mouth piece'in a d gerent'positionfrom that shown in Figure Figure 3 is a sectional view of the gun,

F gure4 is a sectional view through the cover of the paint tank,

Figure 5 is a section along the line 5- 5 of Figure 4, and

Figure '6 is a section along the line 6-6 of Flgure 2. i

In carrying out my invention I provide 21118.11 pump 1 of any standardconstruction. In the present form of the device, I have shown this pump as being of the rotary type. The pump may be actuated by any means such as the engine, not shown. The pump has an inlet pipe 2 and an outlet pipe 3. To the outlet p1pe I secure a hose 4. I have found that this hose should be at least fifty to seventy-five feet in length, although it is obvious that any length of hose desired may be'employed with the machine. The free end of the hose'is connected to theinlet opening 5 of a paint containing tank 6. The tank 6 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 1 and is provided with a cover having the opening 5 therein. The opening 5 communicates with the interior of the tank 6 by means of openings 7 and 14 and passageway 8. -The passageway 8 is provlded with an air release valve 9 at the top thereof. Theopening 5 also communicates with an outlet opening 10. To this outlet open ing I connect a hose 11 and this hose in turn is connected to the handle portion 12 of the spray gun.

Dlsposed between the inlet opening 5 and the outlet opening 10 is a gravity actuated ball valve 13. This valve normally closes the opening 7 and also an opening 14. The opening 14 communicates with the passageway 15 that in turn connects the inlet opening 5 with the outlet opening, 10. The func-= tion ofthe ballvalve 13 will be hereinafter described.

The cover 16 forthe tank al outlet opening 17 therein. T015 s] opening apaint .hose 18 is connected. Tli'e'hose 18 is of the same length as the hose 11 and has its free end connected to the gun at the paint inlet opening 19. I have found that the hose 11 and 18 should bed a length sufficient to permit the tank to be placed in the same room where the painting operation is being carried on, if the painting is \being done in a room, and to permit the operator to paint all of the walls of the room without the necessity of moving the paint tank, unless perchance the room isof exceptional size, in which event the-tank may be moved vided with a valve 25 for closing an opening i turned.

26. The, opening 26 is in communication with the paint hose 18 through the medium of passageways 27 and .28. The trigger 22 is connected to the plunger 24 by means of "a collar 29, and it will .be

seen from, this construction that when the trigger 22 is actuated, it will move the plungor 24 against the tension of a coil spring 30 so as to open the valve 25 and permit the paint to flow through the opening 26.

I also provide means for limiting the movement of the trigger 22 so as to limit the movement, of the valve 25. This means consists of a screw plug 31 that has a knurled head 32 b means 0 which the plug may be he plug may be turned so as to vary the distance between the inner end of the plug and the end of the plunger 24 disposed adjacent to the plug. At the same time; the tension of the coilspring 30 is variedJ It will be readily seen that the distance between the ad acent ends of the plunger 24 and the plug 31 determines the stance through which the plunger 24 is moved.

I will now describe how the air is conveyed through the, gun and is discharged therefrom at a point adjacent to the opening 26. Als'heretofore stated, the hose'4 commu nicates with an opening in the handle 12 of the gun and the handle 12'is m'ade'hollow so as to provide an air'passageway into the in.- terior of the gun. A bushing. 33 is provided for receiving the plunger 24 and also the screw plug 31. The drawing clearly shows how the bushing is spaced from a bore 34 so as to permit the air to flow past the bushing 1-,and into the chamber 35 and air passageway 36. The air passageway in turn communipassageway 8 and into the tank6.

cates with a bore 37. The outer end of this bore is enlarged to form a recess 38, and in this recess I dispose a-disc 39 having four openings 40 therein to permit, air to flow therethrough. The openings40 are spaced 90 apart and two of these openings, spaced diametrically from each other, communicate with air passageways 41 in the mouthpiece 42 when the mouth piece is in the position shown in Figure 3. Whenthe mouth piece is turned at right'angles, the other two openings feed the air to the passageways 41. Thepassageways 41 are turned so as todirect the air in streams that will cross each other at a point adjacent to the opening 26. The air flowing from the passageways 41 will entrain the paint fluid from the opening 26 when the valve 25 is opened. vWhen the air passes from the. passageways 41, itwill cause the paint to be ejected from the gun in a flat spray. The two positions of themouth permits a flat spray to be thrown from the device in a horizontal or vertical plane.

If the operator should desire to have a round spray instead of a flat spray, he merely swings the mouth piece '42 through an arc of so as. to swing the passageways 41 out of alignment with the openings 40 and bring a longitudinally extending recess (see Figure 2)- into communication with the openings 40. The recess in turn communicates with an air passageway 44. When, therefore, the recess 43 is brought into alignment with the openings 40, the air will flow through the air passageway 44 instead of through the passageways 41. The air passageway 44 has an opening-45 that is spaced a, slight distance away, irom the wall 46 defining the opening 26. In this waythe air is fed in a cylindrical form from the opening 45 which causes a round spray to be ejected from the gun instead of a flat spray.

The gun is also provided with means for creating a greater pressure within the tank 6 when it is desired to force a greater quantity of paint from the tank. This consists of a spring ressed valve 47. Thisvalve is normally he d in open position by meansof a spring 48. When the valve 47 is manually depressed by means of the, thumb of the operator, the disc 49 closes the opening to the passageway 36. This stops air from flowing through the passageway 36, and therefore causes the air to back up into the hose 11. The air will thereupon cease to'flow through the hose 11 and will back up through the opening 14 to lift the valve 13. The air, of course, isstill being delivered from the pump 1, and instead of flowing through the ose 11 as was formerly the case, will flow through the opening 14, the opening 7, the This will increase the pressure within the tank and will cause the paint therein .to be forced up through the pipe 50 and into the hose 1 8 In the trigger 22 is actuated: In this way thethe mouth piece 42 has been this way the .operator is enabled to use all of the paint within the tank and to cause the gun'to vary the quantity of paint delivered ashe so desires.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thei'eof may be readily 'understood. The operator first fills the tank .with the desired quantity of paint and then starts the pump fore prevents the opening 26 from clogging. It sometimes happens that foreign matter in tfie paint may clog the opening 26, or that t e thic portion clog the opening. To clean out the opening, the operator merely has to release the trigger, whereupon the valve will instantly. seat and will force the clogged matter from the mouth piece. The gun is 1 The air will instantly flow through the now ready for further use.

hose 4 and 11 and thence through the gun and out either'of the passageways 41 or the passageway 44, depending in which position turned. It should be noted at this point .that the air will continuously flow through the gun whether the valve controlling the paint solution is open or not. The operator then takes the gun and pointing it at the surface to be painted operates the trigger so as to open the valve 25. The air Wlll thereupon spray the paint upon the surface. If the operator wishes to have the guneject a greaterquantity of paint, he merely actuates the valve 47 which produces the desired result fas heretofore described. This is one of the novel features of the invention. A second novel feature of the invention is the construction of the mouth piece which permits the paint to be ejected in a flat spray or a round spray.- This has beenclearly set forth in a former part of the specification. Still another feature lies in the fact that the movement of the trigger 22 may be finely adjusted so as to determine the amount, of opening of the valve 25.

The invention is primarily designed for spraying lead and zinc paints, mineral paints, or any other kind of paint made up of various compositions. ,The spraying is accomplished y means ofa direct current of warm dry air of'a large volume generated by the rotary ump 1 and delivered directly to the gun. s stated in an early part of the specification, the prevailing spray paint methods now on the market embody-a lot of unnecessary equipment, such as relief valves, reduction valves, air storage tanks, and the complicated air valvecontrol by the trigger of t e gun itself. .rAll of these parts are eliminated in the, present device,

It should be noted at this point that the trigger has two arms 51, one of these arms being adapted to bear against the collar 29, while the other is spaced therefrom see Fig ure-l. Thisconstruction is for the purpose of slightly rotating the plunger 24 each time valve 25 is automatically ground, and therefore will seat perfectly throughout the entire lifeof the device.

Theyalve 25 not only closes ,the opening 26, but is also adapted to keep the opening clear. 7 The end of the valve extends flush with the end ofthe valve body and there- The openings 40 arealso made large to prevent them from becoming filled with dust or other foreign matter. This construction further. carries out the non-clogging feature of the gun.

One of the principal objects of the im'ention is to provide a direct air passage from the pump to the gun. It is unnecessary to store the air in com ression tanks and this is solely due .to the. act that-air. under low ges'sure is used. I have found that the st results are obtainable when fifteen cubic feet of air per minute isconveyed to the gun under a pressure between fifteen to twenty-five pounds, but not to exceed this The only time the air is by- I latter fi ure. passed fi'om its direct passa e to the gun is when the operatorwishes to iuild up the air pressure within the aint tank in order to force a greater quantity of paint to the gun. The handle 76 of the tank 6 is threaded, see Figure 4, to permit the handle to be unscrewed from the tank, and the tank to be filled by pourin the paint through the threaded bore. This obviates the necessit of loosening the bolts 77.every time the tan needs fillin I 'claim:"

1. Ina device of the type described, a tank, said tank having an inlet and an outlet opening in communication with each other, passageways from said inlet'and said outlet to the interior of the tank, and means for normally closing said passageways. to cause air to -flow'directly fromthe inlet to the outlet opening, said means placing said inlet opening in communication with said passageways when said outlet opening is closed.

2. In a .device of the type described, a

tank, said tank having an inlet and an out-- let opening in comnuiriicationv with each other, passageways from said inlet and said outlet to the interior of the tank, and means for normally closing said passageways to cause air to .flow directly from theinlet to the outlet opening. said means placing said inlet opening in con'ln'umication with said passageways when said outlet opening is closed, said tank having a fluid outlet,

, whereby a closing of said first named outlet will cause the air to enter the tank and force the fluid from said fluid outlet.

'3. .A spray gun comprising an integral handle having an air passageway therelpaint may be. thicker in, spots, and this.

through, a mouth piece, an air passageway in said gun communicating with the air passageway in said handle, and means disposed in alignment with the air passageway in said gun and substantially adjacent one end thereof for manually closing said air passageway, said means comprising a disc adapted to be placed against the adjacent end of the air passageway'in said gun, and spring means for normally holding said disc away from the air passageway in said gun.

4. A spray gun comprising an integral handle having an air passageway therethrough, amouth piece, an air passageway in said gun communicating with the air passageway in said handle, means disposed alignment with-the air passageway in said gun and substantially adjacent one end thereof for manually closing said air passageway in said gun, said means comprising a disc adapted tobe placed against the adjacent end of the air passageway in said gun, means for manually moving said disc toward the end of said air passageway in said gun, and spring means for moving said disc away from theair passageway in said gun.

5. A spray gun having a mouth piece, an air passageway in said gun, means for conveying a liquid to the center of said mouth piece, said mouth piece comprising a valve body having a longitudinally extending opening therethrough, the outer end of said valve body. having a conical-shaped annular flange integral therewith, means for connecting said opening with said liquid-conveying means, a valve disposed in said opening and adapted to be moved into en agement with said flange for controlling t e amount of liquid passing through said opening, and an air control housing disposed concentric with said valve body and having air passageways therein communicating with the air passageway in said gun, the air passageways in said air control housing being adapted to cause the air from said passageways to intersect at a point in alignment with the liquid opening in'said valve body.

6. A spray gun having a moutl; piece, an

50 \air passageway in said gun, means for conveying a liquid to the center of said mouth piece, said mouth piece comprising a valve body having a longitudinally extending opening therethrough, the outer end of said valve ody having a conical-shaped annular flange integral therewith, means connecting said opening with said liquid-conveying means, a valve disposed in said opening and adapted to be movedinto engagement with said flange for controlling the amount of liquid passing through said opening, a disc disposed concentric with said valve body and having openings therein incommunication with the air passageway in said gun, an air control hous ng disposed concentric with passageways said valve body,and means for holding said air control housing in engagement with said disc, said air control housing having an therein adapted to be brought into alignment with two of the openings 1n said disc, the passageways in said air control housing being adapted to cause the air from said passageways to intersect at a point in alignment with the liquid opening in said valve body for ejecting the liquid in a vertically extending flat spray.

' 7. A spray gun having a mouth piece, an air passageway in said gun, means for conveying a liquid to the center of said mouth piece, said mouth piece comprising a valve body. having a longitudinally extending opening therethrough, the outer end of said valve body havin a conical-shaped annular flange integral t erewith, means connectingsaid opening with said liquid-conveying means, a valve disposed in said opening and adapted to be moved into engagement with said flange for controllin the amount of liquid passing through sai opening, a disc disposed concentric with said valve body and having openings therein in communication with the air passagewayin said gun, an air control housin disposed concentric with said valve body, an means for holding said air control housing in engagement with said disc, said air control housing having air passage ways therein adapted to be brought into alignment with two of the'openings in said disc, the passa eways in said air control housing being a apted to cause the air frpm aid passageways to intersect at a point in lignniht with the liquid opening in said valve body for ejecting the liquid in a vertically extending flat spray, said air control housing being adapted to be moved for bringing the passageways therein in alignment with the other openings in said disc for ejecting the liquid in a horizontally extending flat spray.

8. A spray gun having a mouth piece, an air passageway in said gun, means for'conveying a liquid to the center of said mouth piece, said mouth piece comprising; a valve body having a longitudinally extendin opening therethrough, the outer end of sai valve body having a conical-shaped annular flange integral therewith, means connects ing said opening with said liquid-conveying said valve body, means for holding said air control housing in engagement with said disc, said air control housing: having air passageways therein padapted to be brought into alignment with two of the openings in said disc, the passageways in said air control housing being-adapted to cause the air from said passageway to intersect at a point in alignment with the liquid opening in said valve body for ejecting the li u-id in a vertically extending fiat spray, said air control housing being adapted to be moved for.

brin in the assa ewa s therein in alignment w h the ther ipeni ngs in said disc for ejecting the liquid in a horizontally extending flat spray, and means carried by said air control housing and adapted to communicate with the openings in said disc when the passageways in said air control housing are moved out of alignment with the passageways in said disc for permitting the air to eject the liquid from the gun in a round spray.

9. A spray gun having a mouth piece, an air passageway in said gun, means for conveying' a liquid to the center of said mouth piece, said mouth piece comprising a valve body having a longitudinally extending opening therethrough, the outer end of said valve having a conical-shaped annular flange 1ntegral therewith, means connecting said opening with said liquid-conveying means, a valve disposed in said opening and adapted to be moved into engagement with said flange for controlling the amount of liquid passing through saidc opening,"a disc disposed concentric with"said'.valve' body and havin openings therein in communication with t e a1r passageway in said gun, an air control housing disposed concentric with said valve body, means for holding said a1r control housing in engagement with said disc said a1r control housing having a1r passage-- alignment with the liquid opening in saidvalve body for ejecting the liquid in' a vertically extending flat spray, said air control housing being adapted to be moved for bringing the passageways therein in align ment with the other openings in said disc for ejecting the liquid in a horizontally extending flat spray, means carried by said air control housing and adapted to communicate With the openings in said disc when the passageways in said air control housing are moved out of alignment'with the passage ways in said disc for permitting the air to eject the liquid from the gun in a round spray, said means including said air control housing having arcuate-shaped grooves positioned between, the passageways therein and in communication with the openings in said disc, and a centrally disposed passageway concentric with said valve body and in communication with said grooves.

EMIL STEPHAN. 

